Brantford is sometimes known as the "Telephone City", as a former city resident, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone at his father's home, the Bell Homestead, and conducted the first long distance telephone call from Brantford to Paris, Ontario in 1876.

History[edit]

Brant County Courthouse in Brantford

The Attawandaron, or Neutral Nation, lived in the Grand River valley area before the 17th century; their main village and seat of the chief, Kandoucho, was identified by 19th-century historians as having been located on the Grand River where Brantford lies today. This town, like the rest of their settlements, was destroyed when the Iroquois declared war in 1650 and exterminated the Neutral nation.[3]

In 1784, Captain Joseph Brant and the Six Nations Indians left New York State for Canada. As a reward for their loyalty to the British Crown, they were given a large land grant, referred to as the Haldimand Tract, on the Grand River. The original Mohawk settlement was on the south edge of the present-day city at a location favourable for landing canoes. Brant's crossing of the river gave the original name to the area: Brant's ford. By 1847, European settlers began to settle further up the river at a ford in the Grand River and named the village Brantford. The Mohawk Chapel, part of the original Mohawk settlement, is Ontario's oldest Protestant church. Brantford was incorporated as a city in 1877.

Numerous works address the stories of former residents of Native American boarding schools in Western New York and Canada, such as Thomas Indian School, Mohawk Institute Residential School (also known as Mohawk Manual Labour School and Mush Hole Indian Residential School) in Brantford, Southern Ontario, Haudenosaunee boarding school, and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; the impact of those and similar schools on their communities; and community efforts to overcome those impacts. Examples include: the film Unseen Tears: A Documentary on Boarding School Survivors,[4] Ronald James Douglas' graduate thesis titled Documenting ethnic cleansing in North America: Creating Unseen Tears,[5] and the Legacy of Hope Foundation's online media collection: "Where are the Children? Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools".[6]

Historic sites[edit]

Brantford's history traces its roots to the 18th century with the arrival of the Six Nations tribes from New York State, and the later arrival of Colonialists and European immigrants. A number of historic monuments have been erected within the city marking those events and Brantford's contributions to the Commonwealth's defense of the realm.

Additionally, Alexander Graham Bell's family's first home in North America was a farmhouse on Tutela Heights (named after the First Nations tribe which settled the area,[7] and later absorbed into Brantford) where Bell invented the telephone in July, 1874—although he built his first working model in Boston—and then developed early improvements to it in 1876. As part of the invention and development of the telephone, along with Canada's first telephone factory, the city earned the style of "Brantford, The Telephone City". Associated with those events in the present day are the Bell family's museum home on Tutela Heights Road, Melville House, now called the Bell Homestead National Historic Site, and the Bell Telephone Memorial (below), dedicated by the Governor General of Canada in 1917 to mark the invention of the telephone in Brantford.

The Bell Telephone Memorial, commemorating the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell. The monument, paid by public subscription and sculpted by W.S. Allward, was dedicated by the Governor General of Canada, Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire with Dr. Bell in The Telephone City's Alexander Graham Bell Gardens in 1917. Included on the main tableau are figures representing "Man, the Inventor," "Inspiration whispering to Man, his power to transmit sound through space," as well as "Knowledge, Joy, Sorrow." Courtesy: Brantford Heritage Inventory

Brantford generated controversy in 2010 when its city council took the controversial step of expropriating and demolishing 41 historic downtown buildings on the south side of its main street, Colborne Street. These buildings constituted one of the longest blocks of pre-Confederation architecture in Canada. Included in the list of demolitions were one of Ontario's first grocery stores and an early 1890s office of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, now Bell Canada. This decision was highly controversial and was widely criticized by Ontario's heritage preservation community.[8][9]

Economy[edit]

Brantford's early history included the invention of the electric telephone which led to Canada's first telephone factory within the city in the 19th century. Brantford was also an important Canadian industrial centre for the first half of the 20th century, and was once the third busiest Canadian city in terms of cash-value of manufactured goods exported.

The city is at the deepest navigable point of the Grand River, and was once a railroad hub of Southern Ontario. The combination of water and rail helped Brantford develop from a farming community into a blue collar industrial city based on the agriculture implement industry centred around companies such as Massey-Harris, Verity Plow and the Cockshutt Plow Company. This industry, more than any other, provided the well-paying and steady employment that allowed Brantford to sustain economic growth through most of the 20th century.

By the 1980s and 1990s, the economy of Brantford was in steady decline as a result of the bankruptcies of White Farm Equipment, Massey-Ferguson (and its successor, Massey Combines Corporation), Koering-Waterous, Harding Carpets, and other manufacturers. The bankruptcies and closures of the businesses left thousands of people unemployed and created one of the most economically depressed areas in the country. With a recent influx of new companies moving to the area, the unemployment rate of 7.4% stands below the national rate.[10]

The completion of the Brantford to Ancaster section of Highway 403 in 1997, was intended to provide an increased incentive for business to locate in Brantford because of easy access to Hamilton and Toronto, as well as being along the quickest route through southern Ontario between Detroit and Buffalo. In 2004 Procter & Gamble and Ferrero SpA chose to locate in the city. Though Wescast Industries, Inc. recently closed their local foundry, their corporate headquarters will remain in Brantford. SC Johnson Canada has their headquarters and a manufacturing plant in Brantford, connected to the Canadian National network. On February 16, 2005, Brant, including Brantford, was added to the Greater Golden Horseshoe along with Haldimand and Northumberland counties.

Culture[edit]

Brantford's cultural resources include an array of performing, literary, and visual arts organizations, multicultural groups, libraries, a large performance venue, galleries and museums, and an extensive number of independent artists and craftspeople.[16] Brantford's Municipal Cultural Plan is to be updated in 2014.[17]

Film and Television[edit]

Brantford has frequently been used as a location in the long-running Murdoch Mysteries [20] television series. The series has used the “Carnegie Building”, now part of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus, as the courthouse.[21] The interior of the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts has also been featured in the series.[21][22] In addition, Victoria Park and many of the older homes along Dalhousie and George streets have provided shot locations.[22]

Brantford's downtown provided locations for Weirdsville in 2006 and "Silent Hill" in 2005. Many Brantfordians[23] observed in jest that very little work needed to be done to make downtown look decayed and haunted.

Brantford's Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts was used as "The Rose" mainstage theatre of the "New Burbage Festival" in the series Slings & Arrows.[24]

Education[edit]

Statistics from the Federal 2006 Census indicated that 72% of Brantford's adult residents had earned either a certificate, diploma, or university degree.[25]

Universities and colleges[edit]

Laurier Brantford, a campus of Wilfrid Laurier University, offers a variety of programs at their downtown campus.[26] The 2013-14 enrollment is 2,800 full-time students.

The Faculty of Liberal Arts includes Contemporary Studies, Journalism, History, English, Youth and Children’s Studies, Human Rights and Human Diversity, Languages at Brantford and Law and Society programs. The Faculty of Human and Social Sciences includes Criminology, Health Studies, Psychology and Leadership.

The Faculty of Social Work includes the Bachelor of Social Work.

The Faculty of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies includes Social Justice and Community Engagement (MA) and Criminology (MA)

The School of Business and Economics includes Business Technology Management.

Nipissing University, in partnership with Laurier Brantford, offers the Concurrent Education program in Brantford. In five years, students achieve an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Society, Culture & Environment from Laurier Brantford, and a Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University.[27] During the 2013-14 academic year there were 70 full-time and 100 part-time students in the program.

Conestoga College offer academic programming in Brantford’s downtown core in partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University and its Laurier Brantford campus. Conestoga College offer diplomas in Business and Health Office Administration, a graduate certificate in Human Resources Management and a certificate in Medical Office Practice in Brantford.[28] This program has 120 full-time students in the 2013-14 academic year.

Mohawk College has a satellite campus offering programs however, the college will cease operations in Brantford at the end of the 2013-14 academic year.[29]

Political organization[edit]

Brantford is located within the County of Brant; however, it is a single-tier municipality, politically separate from the County. Ontario's Municipal Act, 2001 defines single-tier municipalities as "a municipality, other than an upper-tier municipality, that does not form part of an upper-tier municipality for municipal purposes".[30] Single-tier municipalities provide for all local government services.[31]

At the federal and provincial levels of government, Brantford is part of the Brant riding.

The current Brantford City Council was elected in the 2010 municipal election and is headed by Mayor Chris Friel, who also previously served as mayor from 1994 to 2003. The council, in addition to Friel, includes Larry Kings and Jan Vander Stelt (Ward 1), Vince Bucci and John Utley (Ward 2), Debi Dignan-Rumble and Dan McCreary (Ward 3), Richard Carpenter and Dave Wrobel (Ward 4), and David Neumann and Marguerite Ceschi-Smith (Ward 5).[32]

Media[edit]

Print[edit]

The Brantford Expositor, started in 1852, is published six days per week (excluding Sundays) by Sun Media Corp.

The Brant News is a weekly paper (delivered Thursday) that also carries breaking news online at their website,[33] published by Metroland Media Group.

The Two Row Times a Free weekly paper, started in 2013, is published on Wednesdays, delivered to every reservation in Ontario and globally online at their website,[34] published by Garlow Media.

Rail[edit]

The train station is located just north of downtown Brantford. Via Rail has daily passenger trains on the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Trains travel between Windsor and Union Station in Toronto. Street rail began in Brantford in 1886 with horse-drawn carriages which by 1893 had been converted to electric. The City of Brantford took over these operations in 1914. Around 1936 buses began to replace street cars and by the end of 1939 the change over was complete. [35]

Bus[edit]

Brantford Transit services the city with nine regular routes operating on a half-hour schedule from the downtown Transit Terminal on Darling Street, with additional school service.

Greyhound Canada has intercity service to Toronto, Hamilton, London, Windsor and other cities.

The Kinsmen Club of Brantford offers a weekly Bingo game which runs every Thursday evening at the Bellview Community Center in Eagle Place

Festivals and Events[edit]

Frosty Fest has become an annual tradition in Brantford. The winter festival is held at Harmony Square on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the Family Day weekend. Frosty Fest was started in 2010 by Freedom House, "a worship driven church".[40] Some of the family-friendly activities include: ice carving, horse-drawn trolley rides, figure skating shows, a street midway, free skating, pony rides, and snow taffy.

The Chili Willy Cook-Off started in 2008. It is held each February at Harmony Square. Local restaurants and caterers compete to win the People's Choice Award for the best chili. Other activities at the day-long event include free skating and live music.

Brantford hosts the region's largest Canada Day Festival each July 1. A grassroots, not-for-profit, organization was formed in the fall of 2004 after a call from the Mayor to re-establish the event when nobody was able to organize one in 2004. Since then Brantford's Canada Day Festival[41] has presented family events and Canadian Juno Award winning entertainment. A 2006 and 2009 Shining Stars Tourism Awards[42] winner and with a budget of nearly $250,000, this one day festival draws an estimated crowd of 35,000 or more people.

Brantford International Villages Festival is one of the City of Brantford’s main events that draws visitors from outside the municipality while encouraging citizens of Brantford and Area to participate in this unique cultural offering that instills excitement, awareness, education and civic pride. Based on community partnerships, the Villages Festival helps to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of national and ethnic groups.

The Brantford Kinsmen Annual Ribfest which is fast becoming the event of the summer to attend, where the best Professional "ribbers" teams from Canada will be competing to win the People's Choice Award(best ribs) and other awards. Referred to as Ribfest is run by the Kinsmen Club of Brantford a not-for-profit, organization and was started in August of 2010. Held the second weekend in August at the beautiful Cockshutt Park, the festival has featured the musical artists Green River Revival (a tribute band to Creedence Clearwater Revival) and Practically Hip (tribute band of Tragically Hip). Ribfest is a fun family-friendly festival with many activities including: of course delicious Ribs, and a big selection of other foods, Kids Zone, face painting, balloon twisting(balloon animals), a midway, variety of bands, water ball(walk on water) and Market place(vendors, lots of vendors). This weekend long festival draws an estimated crowd of 25,000 or more people. In 2010 was nominated at the Shining Stars Tourism Awards and in 2012 took Honorable Mention for the Brant News [43] Remember "It's all about the Ribs baby"

Brantford Public Library[edit]

The main entrance to the Brantford Public Library

Brantford Public Library's central branch, located downtown on Colborne Street, offers lending services to the city's residents, free work space, and historical archives. It has an additional branch on St. Paul Avenue.[44] It has been automated since 1984.[45]

The library traces its roots to the Mechanics Institute, founded by Dr. Charles Duncombe with 100 donated books in 1835, and merged with the Zion Church Literary Society in 1866. A fire in 1870 destroyed most of the collection, but it was later relocated to the Brantford YMCA building and had a collection of 10,300 books by 1877. In 1884, after new legislation from the Ontariogovernment, it changed its name to the Brantford Free Library, and in 1904 it moved into a new building on George Street. Following significant expansions throughout the 20th century, the library moved into a former Woolco store on Colborne Street—its present location—in 1992, changing its name to Brantford Public Library.

In 2000, the library was the first in North America to join the UNESCO model library network, and in 2002 it began a partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University. From April to October 2007, the library underwent major renovations, including the opening of a "community information commons," a space for anyone to work/study with public computers, a rear-facing entrance and a local history room.[45]

Tournaments[edit]

The Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament[46] is held in Brantford annually

The Walter Gretzky House League Tournament is a tournament that is held yearly

Swim International is held annually in November

The Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament - Guinness World Record holder largest street hockey tournament. The street hockey tournament consisted of 205 teams totaling 2,096 players in the 2010 Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, from 4 to 6 June 2010. Walter Gretzky is the father of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky and still calls their hometown of Brantford home. Among participants in the tournament was film director/actor Kevin Smith, who fielded a team and played as goalie.

The Four Season Sports Roller Hockey Tournament, is a tournament that is held yearly.

Other[edit]

Brantford hosted and won the 2008 Allan Cup, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the event.[47]

The Brantford Golf & Country Club was founded in 1879. It is the fourth oldest golf club in North America. It is ranked 29th on Score Golf's "Top 100 Golf Courses in Canada" 2006 list.

The city served as the pre-season camp and facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the late 1960s, hosting the franchise's first preseason training camp and its first preseason exhibition game.[48]

^Patten, William; Bell, Alexander Melville. Pioneering The Telephone In Canada, Montreal: Herald Press, 1926, pg.7. (Note: Patten's full name as published is William Patten, not Gulielmus Patten as stated at Google Books).